Sentences are made of smaller parts. The most important of these parts is the clause. A clause is simply a group of words that has two key ingredients: a subject and a verb.

The subject is who or what the sentence is about. The verb is the action or state of being. Together, they form the core of any sentence. But not all clauses are created equal. They fall into two main categories: independent and dependent.

An independent clause is like a complete story, even if it's very short. It has a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. It can stand all by itself as a full sentence.

Take this example: She reads books.

Here, 'She' is the subject and 'reads' is the verb. The idea is complete. We don't need any more information to understand the basic message.

Here are a few more independent clauses. Notice how each one feels finished.

• The sun shines.
• He kicked the ball.
• They are listening.

A dependent clause also has a subject and a verb, but it doesn't express a complete thought. It leaves you hanging, waiting for more information. It can't stand alone as a sentence.

These clauses often start with words like 'although', 'because', 'when', 'if', or 'since'. These words signal that the clause is attached to something else.

For example: Although she reads books...

We have a subject ('she') and a verb ('reads'), but the thought is incomplete. Although she reads books, what? We need an independent clause to finish the idea.

See how the dependent clause adds information to the main, independent clause (she prefers movies)? On its own, it's just a fragment.

Recognizing the difference between these two types of clauses is the first step toward building stronger, more interesting sentences.